Being an account of one yarnthirsty wench and her never ending quest for the land of milk, honey and natural fibers!

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

As an addendum to yesterday's post about pre-pregnancy, I'd like to add the following.

In future, I will not be doing the cat box because it might hurt the baby. If every woman in America follows my lead, the soon up to their ears in cat shit male voters might just rise up and vote the current Administration down. Instead of a Shabbos goy, we'll have the Catbox guy. And think of all the single women with cats out there? This pre-pregnancy thing could really be bad for American cats. That or it'll spawn a booming industry in cat waste removal. Anything for the unborn.

Also. All men will now be considered pre fathers. This means no more fast cars, motorcycles, sexy boyshorts (loose and airy boxers only, boys), hot tubs, drinking, smoking or recreational drug use. Sorry boys.

I'm so tired of being told, "Well it's good advice."

We know it's good advice. Healthy body = healthy baby has been in the public awareness for years. This new language is something entirely different, dangerous and has nothing to do with healthy babies at all.

Lets look at how the government is spending our tax dollars. From the CDC document:

"Childbearing is a common experience among women in the United States."

Boy, I'm glad they spent my tax money to figure that one out. And I'm glad that they pointed out that it's women who bear the babies, because, for a while, I was confused.

"Community health centers and other Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), including primary care and prenatal care, deliver services to approximately 4.5 million women of childbearing age each year (15). These centers can be used to provide preconception care to women with low incomes (income <200% of the federal poverty level) and with no health insurance."

Correct me if I'm wrong here, I believe that these federally funded health centers are forbidden from mentioning the word "abortion" or they lose all their funding. So. We don't want to tell you how to prevent yourself from having babies, aside from, "Stop having sex." We can't tell you how to terminate a pregnancy if for some reason the birth control you couldn't get didn't work. But we'll tell you how to have that unwanted baby healthily. Of course, we won't pay for your prenatal care in a timely fashion and there won't be any assistance for your defect free little bundle of joy once it's born because we're dismantling the welfare system. Get a job. Slacker. Jeez.

"Women of childbearing age suffer from various chronic conditions and are exposed to (or consume) substances that can have an adverse effect on pregnancy outcomes *snip* in 2002, approximately 6% of adult women aged 18--44 years had asthma, 50% were overweight or obese *snip* Dental caries and other oral diseases also are common (>80% of women aged 20--39 years) and associated with complications for women and infants."

Without access to basic and regular health care, one would expect conditions to be chronic. Dental caries? I'm sorry, unless you've got Humana or Smile Dental, forget those bi-yearly cleanings. Uninsured? Unless you've got cash up front, the dentist isn't going anywhere near your mouth. I don't care if you've got an abscess that's about to eat your brain. No root canal for you. Do not get me started on low income urban areas routinely being toxic, built over waste disposal sites, located near energy plants that are "not in my nice neighborhood", freeway adjacent, full of lead based paint, and shitty air quality. Just, do not get me STARTED on that.

50% of women in this country are obese? Here's a thought, lets tell the incredibly rich fast food industry to stop super sizing the fries. Oh, wait, no, we can't do that. It could piss off the Beef Council of America. They make campaign contributions. Drat. And what about all the obese pre fathers out there? Surely their less than optimal health could impact the unborn.

"38% of mothers who planned pregnancies and an additional 30% who did not plan pregnancies had one or more indications for preconception counseling, including use of tobacco or alcohol, being underweight, or delayed initiation of prenatal care (47)"

In the last decade, the public health system has disintegrated more, funding has been slashed more, to the point of being non-existent in many areas. Leaving NO options for the low income and uninsured. Leaving these communities without basic well care for men, women and children, leaving them no place to go when they are sick, no place to go for basic family planning information and no place to go to initiate prenatal care in a timely manner. Drive through any underprivileged community in this country and count the billboards advertising malt liquor and cigarettes. Think they're plastered all over Beverly Hills? Think again.

You know. I started out laughing, but now I'm just frothing at the mouth here. I'd better stop. I hear that's bad for the baby.

2 comments:

I would vote for a bill that paid for federally-funded cat-poop removers, as well as one designating all men as being "pre-fatherhood" AND "pre-sodomy". What's sauce for the goose IS sauce for the gander.